Prelude - William Wordsworth Flashcards
1
Q
“Small circles glittering idly in the moon”
A
- “small circles” are insignificant compared to “the moon” → humanity vs sublime
- circular imagery could represent the immortality + continuity of nature → unrivalled force
2
Q
“Proud of his skill, to reach a chosen point”
A
- pride → manipulating nature for desired outcome
- fatality of pride (like in Ozymandias)
3
Q
“heaving through the water like a swan”
A
- oxymoron
- “swan” → graceful but “heaving” juxtaposes it
- suggests he is struggling more than he thinks
- appearance vs reality
4
Q
“horizon’s bound”
A
- nature’s limits → but nature has no limits → Wordsworth’s perception is misleading → nature setting a trap and luring him in → surface appearance vs more meaningful depth
- appearance vs reality
5
Q
“huge peak, black and huge”
A
- lost for words
- in awe of the mountain
- speechless
6
Q
“Upreared its head”
“And measured motion like a living thing”
“Strode after me”
A
- personifies the mountain
- awakened the mountain → sleeping beast
7
Q
“Back to the covert of the willow tree”
A
- is only comfortable in familiar parts of nature → won’t dare venture into the depths of the sublime
- fears the unfamiliarity
- surface vs depth
8
Q
“huge and mighty forms, that do not live like living men”
A
- traumatised by his experience
- his view of nature has been broadened
- supernatural
